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Mankind's Dominion, God's Suffering Creatures, and Our Call to Merciful, Loving StewardshipTue, 14 Aug 2018 01:26:50 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.8https://shepherdingcreation.com/content/sites/13/2016/08/cropped-cropped-cross1-32x32.pngShepherding All God's Creatureshttps://shepherdingcreation.com
32321475243011 Timothy 4 and Veganism, A Closer Look – Part Fivehttps://shepherdingcreation.com/2018/08/13/1-timothy-4-and-veganism-a-closer-look-part-five/
https://shepherdingcreation.com/2018/08/13/1-timothy-4-and-veganism-a-closer-look-part-five/#respondTue, 14 Aug 2018 01:25:48 +0000https://shepherdingcreation.com/?p=4252PART ONE PART TWO PART THREE PART FOUR PART FIVE We left off in Part Four discussing whereby when God created each part of the creation he saw that “it was good.” The light, the land, the vegetation and seed bearing plants/trees, the heavens, every living creature on the face of the earth and in […]

We left off in Part Four discussing whereby when God created each part of the creation he saw that “it was good.” The light, the land, the vegetation and seed bearing plants/trees, the heavens, every living creature on the face of the earth and in the seas, humankind – all together God saw that it was “very good.” (Genesis 1)

The passage from 1 Timothy 4 we have been discussing would, therefore, best be understood as highlighting how God’s creation, which was so beautifully described in Genesis 1, should be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth, as it is God’s gift to us and was pronounced good by him.

4. Jewish Tradition and Food

In this context it is interesting to analyse how Jewish tradition has understood the blessing of food before meals. I believe this may actually be closer to Paul’s worldview compared to the Graeco-Roman culture within which Christianity initially grew, and the other cultures it has been influenced by. Interestingly, in Jewish tradition meat and fish, together with animal foods, come last in the list of foods to be blessed, and do not actually receive a specific blessing over them but only a general one. They are not even mentioned by name and come last; in many ways their blessing appears concessionary:[1] this helps to show the limited place meat and fish actually have, at least symbolically, in Jewish tradition and what were considered the important ‘foods’. On the contrary, plant-foods of various kinds come first and each category receives a specific blessing. If bread is eaten this is blessed first and the blessing over it covers all foods except wine/grape juice. On Sabbaths and festivals wine/grape juice is the first to be blessed. The order of blessing, bracha, when there is no bread is: 1) Wine/Grape Juice, 2) Baked grains, 3) Tree fruits, 4) Vegetables, 5) all the other foods, including meat and fish.[2] It is especially important to read the texts of the various blessings in order to understand how Jewish tradition in the final blessing, the Shehakol — which simply means ‘by whose word all things come to be’ — does not even directly bless, or mention, animal foods but merely blesses God more generally as Creator, and for his Word:

]]>https://shepherdingcreation.com/2018/08/13/1-timothy-4-and-veganism-a-closer-look-part-five/feed/042521 Timothy 4 and Veganism, A Closer Look – Part Fourhttps://shepherdingcreation.com/2018/08/05/1-timothy-4-and-veganism-a-closer-look-part-four/
https://shepherdingcreation.com/2018/08/05/1-timothy-4-and-veganism-a-closer-look-part-four/#respondMon, 06 Aug 2018 03:08:13 +0000https://shepherdingcreation.com/?p=4241PART ONE PART TWO PART THREE PART FOUR 3. The Goodness of Creation After having condemned asceticism, Paul goes on to counter the teaching of the proto-Gnostics in regard to creation. Sadly, once again the older translations, while excellent, like the KJV and even YLT obscure the sense of Paul’s words by using archaic English […]

3. The Goodness of Creation

After having condemned asceticism, Paul goes on to counter the teaching of the proto-Gnostics in regard to creation. Sadly, once again the older translations, while excellent, like the KJV and even YLT obscure the sense of Paul’s words by using archaic English expressions. The KJV for example tells us that ‘every creature of God is good’, which sadly some have erroneously understood as talking about animals being ‘good’ to eat. ‘Every creature’ from ‘ktisma’ κτίσμα, simply refers to creation, or that which is created, and is not talking in particular about individual animals. The idea that Paul is talking of ‘every creature’ in the sense of actual animals and meat would not even make sense biblically or factually as God did not create animals as food in the first two chapters of Genesis. This only occurred later as a concession to human hard-heartedness, and perhaps necessity, after the Flood.[1] Conversely, I understand the verses as being correctly rendered in the NASB: ‘For everything created by God is good’. At this point Paul is actually referring to Genesis 1 when God pronounces his creation ‘good’ 6 times and finally ‘very good’ at the end of the chapter, and is refuting the Gnostics’ dualistic view of creation which saw the lower material realm as evil and the spiritual realm above as pure. Every part of God’s original world is called ‘good’ as the 7 days of creation progress. The fact that God calls his creation ‘good’ 7 times in total, with the final utterance being ‘very good’, indicates the completeness of it: 7 in Scripture is always the number of divine perfection and fullness.

The word for ‘good’ in Hebrew is ṭôwb, טוֹב, which is feminine and can also mean beautiful, excellent, right (ethically), or pleasant.[2] Scripture is communicating that there is complete harmony and beauty in God’s perfect world. Furthermore, Paul in this passage is upholding the goodness of Genesis 1 and 2 against the false accounts of creation of the proto-Gnostics: in this sense Paul is contrasting various aspects of the Gnostic account of creation with the biblical one; we see this with the underlining of goodness of God’s creation (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31), the goodness of food (Genesis 1:29-1:31), and the goodness of marriage and procreation (Genesis 1:28; Genesis 2:18-25). In fact, Paul’s quoting of Genesis 1 and 2 can be seen as a point by point rebuttal of the dualistic Gnostic creation story:

Gnostic AccountBiblical Account

1. Original Creation: Good and Evil 1. Original Creation: Totally Good

Material world and Matter are Evil Material world and Matter are Good

2. Marriage and Procreation are Evil 2. Marriage and Procreation are Good

3. Food is not a Blessing 3. Food is a Blessing

Mortification of the body Care for the body

It is important to reread the sevenfold pronouncement of ‘good’ in chapter 1 of Genesis and notice how veganism and non-violence, far from being demonic, are in fact foundational to the final pronouncement by God that all of creation is ‘very good’:

1)4 God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.

2) 10 God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good.

3)12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.

4)17 God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18. and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good.

5)21 God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good.

6) 25 God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.

7)28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29. Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; 30 and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so. 31. God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day (NASB).

The passage from 1 Timothy 4 we have been discussing would, therefore, best be understood as highlighting how God’s creation, which was so beautifully described in Genesis 1, should be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth, as it is God’s gift to us and was pronounced good by him.

Stay tuned for Part Five coming soon! Link for Part Three, and for those who want to read the entire article:

[1] Genesis 9:2-4: the chapters leading up this describe humanity’s descent into violence and evil, and the consequent judgment which follows. The language used to describe God’s giving of animals to the post-diluvian generation appears to be concessional and based on the low spiritual and moral condition humanity had sunken to. Richard Bauckham describes it as a sort of ‘holding operation’ until humanity regained a greater spiritual condition. It may also have been based on a lack of plant food available at the time: Richard Bauckham, The Bible in Politics: How to Read the Bible Politically, 2nd ed. (London: SPCK, 2010), 134-136; Richard Bauckham, Bible and Ecology: Rediscovering the Community of Creation (Exeter: Dartmon, Longman and Todd Ltd, 2010), 23-26.[2] Strong’s Hebrew no. 2896: “2896. Towb,” Bible Hub, accessed April 10, 2018, http://biblehub.com/hebrew/2896.htm.

Thank you for reading and following our blog; we hope you are blessed by our work and will share it with others! ~Marcello Newall

]]>https://shepherdingcreation.com/2018/08/05/1-timothy-4-and-veganism-a-closer-look-part-four/feed/042411 Timothy 4 and Veganism, A Closer Look – Part Threehttps://shepherdingcreation.com/2018/07/29/1-timothy-4-and-veganism-a-closer-look-part-three/
https://shepherdingcreation.com/2018/07/29/1-timothy-4-and-veganism-a-closer-look-part-three/#respondSun, 29 Jul 2018 19:55:54 +0000https://shepherdingcreation.com/?p=4219We left off in Part Two where Marcello is discussing asceticism, that it is often a subset of legalism and alloyed with it; but though it is normal that they would appear together, they must be distinguished from each other, they are not the same thing. PART ONE PART TWO PART THREE These exegetes seem […]

]]>We left off in Part Two where Marcello is discussing asceticism, that it is often a subset of legalism and alloyed with it; but though it is normal that they would appear together, they must be distinguished from each other, they are not the same thing.

These exegetes seem to begin with a series of prejudices against veganism, or what they believe these verses are talking about, and then read them into the text. This strong form of circular reasoning works something like this:

Control Belief Circular Reasoning

‘Veganism is a Form of Asceticism’ →→→ Asceticism = Veganism

‘Some Gnostics did not eat meat’ →→→Paul is Condemning vegetarianism

And yet there is no reason to believe that veganism is intrinsically a harsh form of asceticism in any way — while no doubt it can be made to be if one were to semi-starve oneself on tiny amounts of plant foods. Veganism’s modern version is for the most part anything but this, and is normally a positive message that promotes compassion, abundance, enjoyment of life, and healthy living.[1] Far from condemning their asceticism Augustine even criticised certain vegans of his day of being gluttonous and for overeating![2] Furthermore, seeing veganism as synonymous with asceticism is based on modern erroneous ideas on diet and lifestyle. In the ancient world of the Roman Empire the main staples were cereals and bread, and not meat or animal products — which were consumed sparingly among the common people. Jesus called himself the ‘bread of life’ as bread was the food that gave sustenance, and instructed that people pray ‘give us today our daily bread’.[3] Meat was essentially a luxury item that was eaten rarely by the poor and the working classes, which made up the bulk of the population. While the aristocrats and royalty ate meat and animal foods much more abundantly, the rest of the population subsisted primarily on a vegetarian diet. In fact most of humanity throughout recorded history has subsisted on primarily vegan/vegetarian eating patterns without which large populations would not have been possible.[4] Apart from certain tribes living on the edges of the human oecumene, during most of the history of human civilisation meat has always been eaten rarely, if at all.[5] Similarly, the basic diet of the majority of people living in the Roman Empire consisted of starches, oil, legumes, and locally grown produce.[6] Most of the poor population in Rome lived off the so-called ‘Corn Dole’, which consisted in huge amounts of wheat that the Roman authorities gave for free to the huge urban population in order to keep them under control.[7] The idea that Paul would be condemning the average diet of the working classes for not being ‘rich’ enough — or for being ‘ascetic’ — appears absurd. Moreover, according to the biblical record all of God-fearing humanity from Adam to Noah subsisted on a totally vegan diet.[8] We have to be careful not to read modern Western dietary patterns, where people eat huge amounts of meat and animal products, into the Bible. Even two hundred years ago the current dietary patterns of modern-day Western countries would have been seen as incredibly extravagant by all but the kings, queens, and aristocrats of the earth.[9]

So what is Paul condemning here? From the context I believe it is actually clearly underlined; Paul is condemning ‘apechesthai brōmatōn’, ἀπέχεσθαι βρωμάτων, literally ‘abstaining from foods’: while broma is used many times in the New Testament the expression ‘apechesthai brōmatōn’ appears only here in the entire New Testament. ‘Apéchō’ ἀπέχω, the verb apechesthai comes from, can mean to ‘abstain’ but its root actually means to keep ‘distant from’, ‘stand away from’, or ‘hold off’.[10] The word bromaton is a genitive plural of broma βρῶμα, which simply means ‘food’ or ‘that which is eaten’.[11] Even though it is a plural it can also be rendered a collective noun as ‘food’, as the NASB and NIV do in 1 Corinthians 6:13. Furthermore, broma does not signify in any way animal flesh, which in ancient Greek is ‘kreas’, κρέας, and which is a word that Paul could have used if that had been his intention.[12]

From the context I maintain that the phrase ‘apechesthai brōmatōn’ is depicting a very negative attitude towards food, described literally as ‘keeping distant from food’, and this is what Paul is condemning. Furthermore, the emphasis here is probably more on the very limited quantity, and in particular the inner attitude of self-mortification it was based on, rather than on the specific types of food eaten. It is in this that I believe a lot of exegetes go astray. Paul is not condemning legalism but a dualistic asceticism — telling someone not to eat a certain food could be legalistic but it wouldn’t qualify automatically as ascetic. He highlights this in the verse 8 when talking about ‘bodily exercise’ gymnasia sōmatikos, γυμνασία σωματικός,translated ‘discipline’ by the NASB, but which is referring to the self-mortification he was attacking — in this context it is not about going to the gym, or doing sport, as some have assumed. In fact, the very word ‘asceticism’ comes from the Greek ‘askeō’, which technically has the meaning of ‘to exercise’ or ‘to train’. Paul certainly does attack legalism in other passages of Scripture,[13] but it is not his intention here. It is true that some proto-Gnostic groups had various dietary restrictions — they were often pescatarian — depending on the sect, at the same time the strand of Gnostic thought that Paul is attacking here is an ascetic one, not just a simple form of ritual purity, hence also the mention of not permitting marriage.

As mentioned before, asceticism in Paul’s day could be extremely harsh and in dietary terms could mean eating the bare minimum for survival, eating one meal every three days, or essentially living off bread and water.[14] In Western contemporary society we have few examples of this, as opposed to the fakirs and ascetics in India and the far east, and perhaps the closest example would be forms of semi-anorexia, semi-starvation, or full-blown anorexia nervosa.[15] In the Middle Ages these tendencies developed into what has been described as ‘holy anorexia’;[16] many ‘saints’ from this period practically starved themselves — some to death — as a way of attaining holiness.[17] In a similar way, the very ascetically oriented groups in the ancient world also practiced harsh and exaggerated forms of fasting. These practices resulted in forms of severe deprivation. Some scholars have even historically linked forms of semi-starvation and extreme asceticism in the West directly to the influence of Gnosticism and its dichotomy between spirit and body.[18] In general, the ascetic proto-Gnostic groups believed that treating the body and its desires harshly was a means to purity and salvation: one such group led by a famous proto-Gnostic called Marcion was created shortly after 1 Timothy was written in the first century. Marcion had in fact had debates with Polycarp who was a direct disciple of the apostle John. Furthermore, Marcion believed that the physical world was evil and the God of the Old Testament was malevolent: humanity was trapped in the material world but could one day hope to escape and reach a pure spiritual realm. His was a profoundly dualistic worldview; for these reasons Marcion commanded his followers not to marry and practiced harsh forms of asceticism. We are told for example that: ‘his habits were exceedingly ascetic; for he considered it the chief object of life to mortify the body. It was a rule with his sect to eat and drink merely enough to sustain existence. They fasted often…’[19]

This same harsh form of asceticism is also condemned in the letter to the Colossians. This letter is actually clearer in many respects — and helps us to understand better 1 Timothy 4 — as it shows that this form of mortification of the body was a subset of ritual purity and legalism but different from it. After attacking legalism/ritual purity in 2:16, Paul goes on to denounce harsh forms of religious asceticism. Here I include both the NASB and the ESV:

Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, (Colossians 2:18, NASB).

Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind (Colossians 2:18, ESV).

20 If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, 21“Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!”22 (which all referto things destined to perish with use)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men?23 These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence (Colossians 2:20-23, NASB).

20 If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— 21 “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” 22 (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? 23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh (Colossians 2:20-23, ESV).

Paul talks of ‘self-abasement’, translated as ‘false humility’ in the NIV and more precisely as ‘asceticism’ in the ESV, twice and once of ‘the severe treatment of the body’ — rendered ‘harsh’ in the NIV. I see the error he is attacking as similar to that of 1 Timothy and as a severe asceticism and food restriction which believed that through the mortification of the physical body and the senses a higher form of holiness and spirituality could be attained.[20] In chapter three of Colossians Paul underlines true Christian holiness, which is not obtained through the self-mortification but ‘by putting to death’ evil desires and ungodly behaviour. Paul actually plays on this contrast in chapter 3 and mocks the false form of ascetic holiness; for Paul and Jesus true holiness is holiness of the heart which expresses itself through love and genuine goodness not by semi-starving oneself: ‘Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience’ (Colossians 3:5-6). In 1 Timothy 4 Paul does essentially the same thing he did in Colossians; in 1 Timothy 4:7-8 Paul contrasts gymnasia sōmatikos, ‘bodily exercise’, with true godliness and tells Timothy to ‘exercise’ this: ‘and exercise thyself unto piety, for the bodily exercise is unto little profit, and the piety is to all things profitable, a promise having of the life that now is, and of that which is coming’ (KJV). Sadly most commentators seem to ignore Paul’s comment on ‘bodily exercise’, which is fundamental in understanding what he meant by ‘apechesthai brōmatōn’ or ‘abstaining from foods’. We can see how the pattern used in 1 Timothy mimics what Paul does in Colossians (below):

HARSH ASCETICISM TRUE INNER GODLINESS

Colossians 2:18-23 →→→ Colossians 3:5-6

‘Harsh Treatment of the Body’ VS Mortification of the Sinful Nature

1 Timothy 4:8a→→→1 Timothy 4:8b

‘Bodily Exercise’ VS True ‘Piety’/Godliness

Stay tuned for Part Four coming soon, and for those who want to read the entire article:

]]>https://shepherdingcreation.com/2018/07/29/1-timothy-4-and-veganism-a-closer-look-part-three/feed/042191 Timothy 4 and Veganism, A Closer Look – Part Twohttps://shepherdingcreation.com/2018/07/22/1-timothy-4-and-veganism-a-closer-look-part-two/
https://shepherdingcreation.com/2018/07/22/1-timothy-4-and-veganism-a-closer-look-part-two/#commentsSun, 22 Jul 2018 23:42:41 +0000https://shepherdingcreation.com/?p=4216We continue with Part Two….. 2. The Text of 1 Timothy 4 1 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron,3 men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created […]

2. The Text of 1 Timothy 4

1 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron,3 men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude;5 for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.6 In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following. 7 But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; 8 for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come (1 Timothy 4:1-8, NASB).

The NASB translation is perhaps one of the best available for this text together with the NRSV (1989).[1] On the other hand, The King James Version (KJV) sadly creates some confusion by its use of 17th century English and the word ‘meats’:

3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer (1 Timothy 4:3-5, KJV).

Another Bible translation, ‘Young’s Literal Translation’ (YLT), from 1862 is very good but again uses the old English ‘meats’, which simply means food:

1 And the Spirit expressly speaketh, that in latter times shall certain fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and teachings of demons, 2 in hypocrisy speaking lies, being seared in their own conscience, 3 forbidding to marry — to abstain from meats that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those believing and acknowledging the truth 4 because every creature of God [is] good, and nothing [is] to be rejected, with thanksgiving being received, 5 for it is sanctified through the word of God and intercession. 6 These things placing before the brethren, thou shalt be a good ministrant of Jesus Christ, being nourished by the words of the faith, and of the good teaching, which thou didst follow after, 7 and the profane and old women’s fables reject thou, and exercise thyself unto piety, 8 for the bodily exercise is unto little profit, and the piety is to all things profitable, a promise having of the life that now is, and of that which is coming; (1 Timothy 4:1-8, YLT).

The problem with the KJV translation is that ‘meat’ in 17th century English simply meant food and not animal flesh. What is supposed to be received with thanksgiving is likely food, and creation, in general. While many tend to read vegetarianism into this passage, this is never explicitly mentioned and is simply the bias of the reader. I believe that many interpreters have confused legalism with asceticism and have mixed them all together; ascetics are almost invariably legalistic to some degree, yet not all legalists are ascetics: they are in fact two distinct phenomena which need to be understood separately even when asceticism is a subset of legalism. The NIV translation, for example, adds the word ‘certain’ to ‘foods’, which is not found in the original Greek and is simply the opinion of the translator: this can be seen in the NIV Concordance[2] where it actually states that ‘certain’ in this verse is NIG, or Not In Greek. This choice of adding ‘certain’ slants the reading of the text and makes it appear that Paul is talking about specific foods that are being forbidden whereas this is not explicitly talked about in these verses.

Diagram Photo by Marcello

At the same time some modern interpreters seem to carelessly use the term ‘asceticism’, which literally means ‘discipline’, and end up constantly throwing this word around. For these exegetes any form of dietary restriction appears to be described as ‘ascetic’. Not eating cheeseburgers and drinking milkshakes every day would probably be considered ‘ascetic’, as it would be seen as a form of discipline that requires self-control. Even following a healthy diet with abundant food, excellent taste, and ample variety would probably be considered a type of ‘asceticism’ by them. But this form of understanding totally betrays what is being talked about in this context. What is being discussed here goes far beyond even the temperance, moderation, and self-control promoted, for example, by Buddhism, or originally by Plato in Ancient Greece, and which are often mistaken for severe asceticism.[3] What Paul has in mind here is clearly a harsh form of asceticism[4] not simply a kind of normal modern day dietary regimen. Paul extolled self-control as a fruit of the Spirit,[5] and his own life was particularly difficult: he had been imprisoned, stoned, shipwrecked, whipped, exposed to the cold, attacked, persecuted, he had gone without food for days, was used to fasting, and had been raised in the strict discipline of the Pharisees.[6] If Paul called something ‘harsh’ it must have been particularly so. This is a far cry from the idea most contemporaries have of ‘asceticism’ which appears to be a parody of its real meaning, and a projection of our present culture.

Others have instead correctly understood that these verses are talking about asceticism — many commentaries underline this so it is not a mystery — but then strangely read veganism/vegetarianism into it. Their reasoning goes something like this: ‘veganism is ascetic therefore every time the Bible is talking about asceticism it is in fact talking about veganism’. Or they simply assume that since some Gnostic groups refrained from eating — particularly red — meat that this is automatically what Paul is criticising. This is wrong on two accounts. Firstly, Gnosticism, and proto-Gnosticism, was particularly varied and often contradictory in its positions and even in its dietary requirements; some Gnostic groups — like the Nicolaitans[7] — even encouraged their followers to eat meat sacrificed to idols because they had been freed from the constraints of the body and were beyond normal morality. Secondly, as I mentioned earlier, asceticism is often a subset of legalism and alloyed with it, so it is normal that the two would appear together, but they must at the same time be distinguished. They are simply not the same thing.

Stay tuned for Part Three coming soon! Link for Part One, and for those who want to read the entire article:

]]>https://shepherdingcreation.com/2018/07/22/1-timothy-4-and-veganism-a-closer-look-part-two/feed/142161 Timothy 4 and Veganism: A Closer Look – Part Onehttps://shepherdingcreation.com/2018/07/15/1-timothy-4-and-veganism-a-closer-look-part-one/
https://shepherdingcreation.com/2018/07/15/1-timothy-4-and-veganism-a-closer-look-part-one/#commentsMon, 16 Jul 2018 02:45:29 +0000https://shepherdingcreation.com/?p=4203First Timothy chapter 4 is often used to denounce veganism as being anti-Christian and even demonic. This is a favourite theme for many hard-line fundamentalists, but it is also used by right-wing conspiracy theorists. In contrast, I argue that a closer examination of the passage in question, and its context, shows that Paul is clearly […]

First Timothy chapter 4 is often used to denounce veganism as being anti-Christian and even demonic. This is a favourite theme for many hard-line fundamentalists, but it is also used by right-wing conspiracy theorists. In contrast, I argue that a closer examination of the passage in question, and its context, shows that Paul is clearly not referring to anything similar to contemporary veganism but to a very harsh form of asceticism based on an unbiblical view of creation. In fact, after analysing the King James Version of the Bible it becomes apparent that much of the confusion over this matter is simply linked to the use of ‘meats’ in 17th century English, which does not mean ‘animal flesh’ like its present-day equivalent.

Far from denouncing veganism I maintain that Paul is actually upholding the creation account given in Genesis chapters one and two. His polemic was and is against those who deny the incarnation of Christ, the goodness of God’s creation, and promote dualism and severe forms of asceticism as a means of union with God and sanctification. Paul contends that harsh bodily mortification is useless and that Christians should be seeking true inner godliness instead. I see the misreading of 1 Timothy 4, ultimately, as an example of how the Bible can be used in order to help perpetuate worldviews and traditions which are beginning to be questioned in society; it also underlines how Scripture can become a pretext to promote false ideologies. Sadly, as is the case with much poor exegesis I argue that 1 Timothy 4 has been excluded from its:

1) Immediate context: both linguistic and conceptual

2) The general context and message of 1 Timothy

3) The rest of the New Testament

4) The overall teaching and direction of Scripture

5) Common sense and knowledge from other fields of learning

1. Creation and Gnostic Myths

From the book itself we can understand that the letter of 1 Timothy was written by Paul to Timothy in order to help his young pupil who was stationed in the church in Ephesus. Timothy was young (4:12), and apparently fearful.[1] Paul at the start of the Letter immediately underlines the purpose of his writing:

As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, 4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. 5 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion,7 desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions (1:3-7).

Paul wants Timothy to stop certain false teachers ‘who devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies’.[2] These teachers also seem to act as if they are teachers of the ‘law’, even though their interpretation of the Law of Moses is particularly heterodox: the Hebrew Scriptures appear only to be a starting point — and were normally turned upside down — from which they developed their convoluted theories and stories.[3] Many scholars agree,[4] and the internal evidence in the letter point to a form of proto-Gnosticism as being the error that Paul is attacking;[5] in fact, Paul directly mentions proto-Gnosticism at the end of the letter. This is not so easy to understand from the English translation but is seen clearly in the Greek: ‘O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge” [gnosis]’. The word for knowledge is gnosis, from which the word ‘Gnosticism’ is derived. The errors mentioned in the letter fit perfectly with what we know about Gnosticism, even though this would develop fully only in the next two centuries.[6]

While being a philosophy that encompassed various positions and contradicted itself in many doctrines, Gnosticism was essentially an esoteric and dualistic view of the world that believed that the physical creation was made by an inferior demiurge.[7] This lesser ‘god’, whom the Gnostics identified with the Jewish God of the Old Testament, had trapped human beings in the inferior material creation. At the same time a more spiritual god had sent Lucifer to aid humanity by opening its eyes and helping it to escape the bondage of the material realm. As can be seen, the Gnostic account of creation, which could actually be extremely complex and utilised long convoluted genealogies, contradicted almost completely the Biblical view of creation. The Gnostics also believed they possessed special ‘knowledge’ that helped them escape the earthly realm of existence, and which would bring about their salvation. Despite their controversies Gnostics tended to have four main areas of agreement:

First, they believed in one God who is wholly transcendent, spiritual and far removed from the fallen, material universe, which he did not create. The physical universe was created by an evil or demented lesser god (a “demiurge”). Second, human beings are sparks (or droplets) of the same material substance that God is and have somehow become trapped in physical bodies, which are like tombs to be escaped. Third, Gnostics all agreed that the “fall” that led to sin and evil is identical to the fall into matter. Creation and fall coincide. As long as spirits are trapped in physical bodies and materiality, they will be subject to sin, which is caused by ignorance of their nature and home. The fourth common feature of Gnostic belief was their vision of salvation. All Gnostics agreed that salvation is to escape from the bondage of material existence and travel back to the home from which souls/spirits have fallen. The possibility is initiated by the great Spirit, God, who wishes to draw back to himself the stray bits and pieces. God sends forth an emanation of himself — a spiritual redeemer — who descends through layers and layers of reality from pure spirit to dense matter and attempts to teach some of the divine sparks of Spirit their true identity and home. Once awakened, they are able to begin the journey back. Salvation is by knowledge — self-knowledge. Finally, all of the Gnostics (so far as anyone knows) considered themselves Christians and regarded Jesus as the human vehicle for this heavenly messenger, “Christ”. All rejected the idea of God becoming incarnate, dying and rising bodily. Such beliefs were considered unspiritual and against true wisdom because they entangled spirit with matter.[8]

As mentioned earlier in the first century Gnosticism was not the fully developed kind we find in the second and third centuries and it would be more appropriate to talk of proto-Gnosticism. At the same time, many of the features of later Gnosticism are already present. The dualistic worldview of Gnosticism led to the opposite tendencies of extreme licentiousness and harsh forms of asceticism: this was because the body was of limited importance and had been transcended through special spiritual knowledge. Whereas letters like 1 John, 2 Peter and Jude — together with parts of 1 Corinthians — lambast the libertine version of Gnosticism, 1 Timothy and Colossians appear to address the more legalistic and especially the Gnostic tendencies that brought about self-mortification. And yet it would seem that libertine tendencies, and profound greed, may have been present even in the church of Ephesus and that Paul addresses some of them in 1 Timothy.[9] Various Gnostic tendencies, whether legalism, asceticism or libertinism often coexisted in the churches as mixtures or in opposition to each other: many Gnostic sects and movements were actually often an amalgam of legalism and asceticism as in the case of certain Gnostics in the church of Colossae.[10]

Stay tuned for Part Two coming soon! For those who want to read the entire article:

]]>https://shepherdingcreation.com/2018/07/15/1-timothy-4-and-veganism-a-closer-look-part-one/feed/24203Lab Grown Meat – Is This Biblical?https://shepherdingcreation.com/2018/07/07/lab-grown-meat-is-this-biblical/
https://shepherdingcreation.com/2018/07/07/lab-grown-meat-is-this-biblical/#commentsSun, 08 Jul 2018 01:40:18 +0000https://shepherdingcreation.com/?p=4142Given we are a people of faith in Christ Jesus and the Biblical story in Genesis 1,2 as God’s vision for creation; the Bible being about humanity’s history throughout the entire narrative and the story of our Creator reaching into our world at every point throughout the Biblical narrative unto this very day actively seeking […]

]]>Given we are a people of faith in Christ Jesus and the Biblical story in Genesis 1,2 as God’s vision for creation; the Bible being about humanity’s history throughout the entire narrative and the story of our Creator reaching into our world at every point throughout the Biblical narrative unto this very day actively seeking our redemption from the corruption that began at the fall (Genesis 3); with a thorough understanding of these three key points in mind, in all that humankind considers doing upon the earth, there is one question to ask:

Will this uphold the intentions of God’s vision, ideal or perfect will for the whole creation?

Is lab grown meat Biblical, does it reflect the ideal will of God?

My reaction is mixed. First, I think it defies and deflates the biblical message of Genesis before the fall; all life is created vegetarian. Lab grown meat makes it seem it is okay ethically to continue to satisfy our desire for flesh foods because it does not involve the cruelty or damage that is done to the environment raising meat products the way we raise animals for food now.

Secondly, I become conflicted because I would rather see meat consumed this way since civilization is likely not going to stop. It would be ethically more palatable, better for the environment and likely to a degree, human health.

But. It still does not conform to the Creator’s perfect will and intentions for us which is vegetarian. It paves another path forward in mankind’s saga of flesh-eating. Should the world be destined for restoration to its original intent, I have concerns that Christians who proclaim the message of hope and truth of God’s coming peaceable kingdom will only muddy the waters further if they embrace this technology, exasperating the issue of facing becoming people who will reflect God’s vision of a peaceable, vegetarian kingdom.

“Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10)

We so often proclaim this and then try to find ways to force our own human way. Isn’t this typical of people, to want to be the god of their own destination? Isn’t this what Satan convinced humanity of, that we could be our own gods, understanding right from wrong ourselves? Isn’t this the first lie we fell for?

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.“For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:1-5

Animals as “food” were off-limits in the Garden of Eden; in fact, I rather doubt that animals were ever thought of as food at that time. It was sin that brought this kind of thinking into the world and it is people, affected by Satanic influence, that has made this okay, misreading and misconstruing scripture, to fit their ideas of what is right for them to eat – even unto making it God’s idea that we are to eat meat for food, when this was his concession to a people whose hearts had become so hardened he had no other choice (Genesis 8).

Genesis is clear what the original diet prescribed for ALL creation is to be:

“And God said, I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to every beast of the earth and every bird of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth—everything that has the breath of life in it—I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.… Genesis 1:29, 30

Thank you for reading and following our blog. We appreciate you, pray you are blessed by our work, and will share it with others! ~Kathy

]]>https://shepherdingcreation.com/2018/07/07/lab-grown-meat-is-this-biblical/feed/84142Sons and Daughters Revealedhttps://shepherdingcreation.com/2018/07/04/sons-and-daughters-revealed/
https://shepherdingcreation.com/2018/07/04/sons-and-daughters-revealed/#commentsWed, 04 Jul 2018 07:44:51 +0000https://shepherdingcreation.com/?p=4124It is the night before the 4th of July, America’s celebration of independence from the British Empire. For days now, at dusk and into the night, fire crackers and other fireworks begin to be set off. The quiet neighborhood is interrupted with the pop pop pop and the banging of these noisemakers. The night sky […]

]]>It is the night before the 4th of July, America’s celebration of independence from the British Empire. For days now, at dusk and into the night, fire crackers and other fireworks begin to be set off. The quiet neighborhood is interrupted with the pop pop pop and the banging of these noisemakers. The night sky is filled with glitter and sparkle, fiery light and smoke. My biggest concern is for the creatures who must endure this in their habitat – the outside world which is their home – and pets who hide under beds and shiver in corners or on chains outside where they cannot escape.

I take a deep breath, and pray. Lord Jesus, the animals need you. Those outside who cannot hide. Those hiding under the beds or in the corners. Those who run in terror and who perhaps leave behind little ones. Please carry these the least of your creatures’ suffering. And please wake up your human creatures to their place upon the earth as those created to care for and protect the entire creation, not scare the wits out of them or tear apart their families. Please help them find a place of respite; please help those who cannot do so by sending an angel to be with them, or send workers Lord to rescue them from their plight. AMEN

In my grief for the animal kingdom, I turn to Jesus and a little book called “I Stand at the Door and Knock” by Corrie Ten Boom. It is a great little guide, sort of like a devotional. On page 141 is the chapter How to Take Stock, and a bit of comfort from God’s promises. I share here a snippet of this wonderful book in hopes that you, too, will find hope and comfort:

Corrie Ten Boom’s Book

“What an amazing prospect, what an incredible perspective is given to us in Romans 8. The suffering of today cannot be compared with the glory that is awaiting us. You may see danger and death around you, but the reality is that Jesus lives, and he is with us. “Though you have not seen him, you love him” (1 Peter 1:8). Particularly in the days of great oppression we will be used. We must practice being strong when oppressed, by taking the promises of the Bible seriously.

Today many of God’s children are oppressed in a large part of the world [his creatures too]. In our days there is darkness over the whole world, knowledge of global despair, a fear of insecurity arising from all visible things. We are shaken by what we see on television and read in the newspapers. It all seems so senseless. Romans 8:22 says, “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.” Verse 19 says, “The creation waits in eager expectation of the sons of God to be revealed.” In the Phillips translation it says, “The whole creation is on tiptoe to see the wonderful sight of the sons of God coming into their own.”

Who are the sons of God? In Romans 8:14 we read, “Those who are led by the spirit of God are sons of God.” We know the secret of God’s plan. We can read it in Ephesians 1. And what does this creation see when they see you and me, while it is on tiptoe? Do they see beggars, poor wretches, or do they see the King’s children?”

God sees and knows the creatures’ sufferings; he suffers alongside them and is with them; he loves them; he has promised that they, too, shall share in the inheritance that is for those who believe and trust in him – it is theirs, too! They shall be redeemed on that day when we see our precious Jesus face to face – they, too, shall see him face to face! He shall wipe away every tear – he shall wipe away their tears, also! (Revelation 21:4) Isaiah 65:17 – “For I will create a new heaven and a new earth; the past events will not be remembered or come to mind.” The creation also will remember it no more! Though you and I cannot end all of the suffering now, we can trust the Father is doing everything he can to move us forward, with each passing moment, closer to the day he fulfills his promise of peace to us (Romans 13:11); and he will restore the creatures freedom from tyranny as he keeps his promise to them:

In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky and the creatures that move along the ground. Bow and sword and battle I will abolish from the land, so that all may lie down in safety. (Hosea 2:18)

We do all we can to relieve the creation of its suffering by not partaking in that which causes it;
We speak out about it, educate others;
We take comfort in and stand on God’s promises, trusting in him and the work he is doing; andPray for the King’s children to be revealed!

Thank you for reading and following our blog. We pray you are blessed by our work and will pass it along to others. Thank you! ~Kathy

]]>https://shepherdingcreation.com/2018/07/04/sons-and-daughters-revealed/feed/24124Part Seven– “Through The Cross To The New Creation, The Church In Action”https://shepherdingcreation.com/2018/05/20/part-seven-through-the-cross-to-the-new-creation-the-church-in-action/
https://shepherdingcreation.com/2018/05/20/part-seven-through-the-cross-to-the-new-creation-the-church-in-action/#commentsSun, 20 May 2018 02:15:48 +0000http://shepherdingcreation.com/?p=3851We continue with Part Seven, the finale of, “Through The Cross To The New Creation, The Church In Action”, written by May Tripp, founder of Animal Christian Concern, or ACC. If you have not read the previous posts you can find them here: Parts One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six. This article is included in the book, “Animal Welfare: Through The Cross, A Collection […]

]]>We continue with Part Seven, the finale of, “Through The Cross To The New Creation, The Church In Action”, written by May Tripp, founder of Animal Christian Concern, or ACC. If you have not read the previous posts you can find them here: Parts One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six. This article is included in the book, “Animal Welfare: Through The Cross, A Collection Of Animal Christian Concern Articles” by Roslyne Smith, and can be purchased here.For those who would like to read the entire article: THROUGH-THE-CROSS Article 10

I have tried in this talk to show how we, as Christians, share in the strivings and sufferings of secular animal welfarists, the sufferings of the Cross. Especially I want to say how we in our work are dependent not upon our own strengths – which are frail – but upon God, by the strength of His Holy Spirit. This strength we always have, however imperfect we are. As St. Paul said to the Corinthians, “There is nothing in us that allows us to claim that we are capable of doing this work. The capacity we have comes from God; it is He who made us capable of serving the new covenant, which consists not of a written law but of the Spirit”. (2 Corinthians 3 v 4-6).

I have spoken of transformations, of promptings from God and these are blessings to be treasured. The most significant one for me was in 1987, two years after ACC had been formed. It was one Christmas, on “Boxing” night, when jaded from commercialism and even from the glitter of church services, I fell asleep pondering on the true meaning of Christmas. It seemed that I was immediately given a picture of a task. Before me lay the body of the crucified Christ Jesus, traditionally naked except for a loincloth, His face turned away from me, and I knew that I had to place His body back upon the Cross. In the background a non-Christian ceremony was taking place and I felt an increased urgency for my task; a sort of conflict was present. I looked for the Cross, but before me was not a cross but a thorn hedge, and the thorns were not thorns but metal spikes and rods. I thought that I should never be able to lift the body of Christ but I tried, and from behind me came a shadowy figure whom I never saw and who helped me to lift Him. I scrambled up the hedge, holding Christ, who was dead but warm and vibrant. In the strange way that happens in dreams my practical consciousness was thinking: “I could be hurt on these spikes and I don’t want that.” I hastily fastened Christ on to one of them and climbed down quickly. I awoke briefly, overawed and still feeling the blessing and warmth of Christ. The picture changed and I stood looking through a latticed window preparing, with much pride, to show a very dear friend the body of Christ which I had placed on His Cross. We looked. The hedge was empty. I awoke with a shock, betrayed, thinking that my task had all been a dreadful mistake. Not until later did I realise that my heart had needed to “crucify” the Lord of Creation and then allow Him to rise. And that the wood which makes the manger is of the same wood which makes the Cross. So, too, I learned that in pro­claiming Christ crucified it simply is not possible to avoid the pain of the thorns.

I make no extravagant claim for this dream, which may well have been the result of my own ponderings. But the singular thing about it was that, almost imperceptibly, it had changed me. Gone were my previous multi-faith ideas, my reluctance to accept the need of the Cross, my uncertainties. When reading the Bible I began to recognise the ONLY Son of God, Christ Jesus crucified, risen, ascended and awaited. Gone too was any timidity about our cause for animals. My convictions were strengthened and I saw with a new clarity how God’s love for His whole creation had been there from the very beginning, as had been our responsibilities of caring for His creatures. I recognised that His natural creation now awaits His coming and the fulfilment of Redemption, just as we do.

Sadly, I also saw that most of His Church is not proclaiming this, and that its failure to do so is undermining not only our work on behalf of animals but the very fabric of our Christian faith. It is the whole Truth of the Gospel which is increasingly under threat.

So I end by calling upon the Church to preach the WHOLE Gospel to the WHOLE creation. Only thus will we Christians fully honour our Lord and fully accept our responsibilities for all of His creatures. Then, as in the old Christmas carol, we shall know the way of the CROSS to the NEW CREATION.

“Trace we the Babe who hath retrieved our loss,From the poor manger to the bitter Cross;Tread in His steps, assisted by His grace,Till man’s (creation’s) first heavenly state again takes place.”“Christians Awake, Salute The Happy Morn.”

With love and prayers,
May Trip

Thank you for reading and following our blog. We pray you are blessed by these articles, and will share them with others. God’s love and blessing! ~Kathy

]]>https://shepherdingcreation.com/2018/05/20/part-seven-through-the-cross-to-the-new-creation-the-church-in-action/feed/73851Part Six– “Through The Cross To The New Creation, The Church In Action”https://shepherdingcreation.com/2018/05/12/part-six-through-the-cross-to-the-new-creation-the-church-in-action/
https://shepherdingcreation.com/2018/05/12/part-six-through-the-cross-to-the-new-creation-the-church-in-action/#commentsSat, 12 May 2018 16:45:31 +0000http://shepherdingcreation.com/?p=3848We continue with Part Six in this series, written by May Tripp, founder of Animal Christian Concern, or ACC. If you have not read the previous posts you can find them here: Parts One, Two, Three, Four, Five. This article is included in the book, “Animal Welfare: Through The Cross, A Collection Of Animal Christian Concern Articles” by Roslyne Smith, and can be purchased here. […]

]]>We continue with Part Six in this series, written by May Tripp, founder of Animal Christian Concern, or ACC. If you have not read the previous posts you can find them here: Parts One, Two, Three, Four, Five. This article is included in the book, “Animal Welfare: Through The Cross, A Collection Of Animal Christian Concern Articles” by Roslyne Smith, and can be purchased here.

Those who are servants of God have, “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb,” (Rev 7 v 14). The “blood of the Lamb”: shuddering, terrible words to a non-Christian vegetarian who does not understand their significance – they used to appal me. So, too, the words at the Eucharist: “We thank you for feeding us with the body and blood of your Son, Jesus Christ”. Even after I had returned to the Church, after much wandering through other faiths and philosophies, and once again called myself a Christian, for a long time I could not say these words. Not until I really knew Jesus could I say them, and love them. How difficult it is for ACC and for all of us here to take Christ to animal welfarists using such terminology. And yet the truth of these pictures is fundamental, totally essential to Christianity, for there can be no faith in Christ Jesus without the faith that His Cross has saved us from the consequences of the Fall, that He has saved the whole creation from eternal death and raised us into the eternal life of Redemption. Christianity is not an ethic, not a philosophy of life, and Jesus was not and is not, a “good teacher”. He is a Saviour and Redeemer – or just a religious man who was deluded and eventually faced execution. The Gospels present us with no other option.

Contemporary rationalism, of course, would try to tell us otherwise, which is why rationalism is, and always has been, an enemy of the Gospel (1 Timothy 6 v 20). Of course it is not easy to believe all these supernatural and wonderful things about God sending His only Son to earth to reconcile us to Himself, for we all have feet of clay firmly planted in the world. Most of us have to take stock of our faith from time to time and say, “Is this really what I believe?” It is hard to keep faith and we cannot do it unless we remain, “on the vine”. (John 15 v 4) This is why we must be, “born again”, with new eyes to see the Kingdom of God, with new ears to hear God’s word, and then to open our hearts to Christ Jesus, so that He may make His home within us. (Rev 3 v 20). No, we do not easily hold fast to our faith and most of us need His encouragement and promptings as we stumble along, clutching our crosses with one hand and trailing our vines in the other.

All of us here, as individuals, are taking our walks with God and yet, even as animal welfarists, we all have our own different ideas. Take, for instance, the very basic argument as to whether or not we should keep companion animals. Some, like me, believe that these animals are life-savers for the lonely, as well as a bonus for children, and that they fulfil a happy and worthy role as companions. Also that, without them, city dwellers especially would lose touch with the animal world altogether and would be even less likely to think about animal suffering. But I have colleagues who would disagree and who would consider companion animals to be exploited and point to massive neglect. Even amongst ourselves we have to respect each other’s points of view. This is so with our Christian beliefs. And sometimes in our walk with Christ we are even called upon to make dramatic U-turns, and we see around us Roman Catholics becoming Pentecostalists, Anglicans becoming Roman Catholics; meat eaters becoming vegetarians and vegetarians having to become meat eaters; opponents of the ordination of women preparing to work and worship with women priests, and so on. Remember the Roman Catholics of old who were martyred for their faith, and the Protestants of old who were martyred for theirs, all of them believing themselves to be right, and all of them now honoured for their faith and courage. How crazy it all must seem to the non-Christian. Yet each one of us has an individual walk to take and what really matters is that we take it with integrity. For one day, in God’s good time, all our strivings and all our differences will be hallowed and reconcil­ed by the Cross – which points in four different directions, to all corners of creation.“For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in Heaven by making peace through His blood shed on the Cross…” (Colossians 1 v 19)

Stay tuned for part seven, the finale of “Through The Cross To The New Creation, The Church In Action”. For those who would like to read the entire article: THROUGH-THE-CROSS Article 10Thank you for reading and following our blog; we hope you are blessed by our work! ~Kathy

]]>https://shepherdingcreation.com/2018/05/12/part-six-through-the-cross-to-the-new-creation-the-church-in-action/feed/73848Part Five – “Through The Cross To The New Creation, The Church In Action”https://shepherdingcreation.com/2018/05/01/part-five-through-the-cross-to-the-new-creation-the-church-in-action/
https://shepherdingcreation.com/2018/05/01/part-five-through-the-cross-to-the-new-creation-the-church-in-action/#commentsTue, 01 May 2018 02:28:17 +0000http://shepherdingcreation.com/?p=3839We continue with Part Five in this series, written by May Tripp, founder of Animal Christian Concern, or ACC. If you have not read the previous posts you can find them here: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four. This article is included in the book, “Animal Welfare: Through The Cross, A Collection Of Animal […]

]]>We continue with Part Five in this series, written by May Tripp, founder of Animal Christian Concern, or ACC. If you have not read the previous posts you can find them here: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four. This article is included in the book, “Animal Welfare: Through The Cross, A Collection Of Animal Christian Concern Articles” by Roslyne Smith. The book can be purchased here.

Sickness is yet another cross, another separation from God. Oh yes, I know that some people can be saintly in illness, but others more readily doubt the love of God and feel anger against Him. Again, we remember how Jesus Himself cried out forsakenly as He felt the pain of the Cross. Our human sickness is also shared by the natural creation, particularly by its animals. They suffer their own natural illnesses of course, but many today suffer the additional distress caused by human pollution. And this is not the only burden of sickness borne by animals. For those who are used as laboratory tools, life begins and ends in a suffering deliberately caused by humans and for humans. This compounded sin is justified by our legal system and our society as intensive farming, blood-sports, etc., etc., are also justified by the world.
Of course the theology of the Cross is complex, a deep Mystery of the Christian faith, and our reactions are necessarily personal. Francis of Assisi cared nothing for theology; he adored the Cross and prayed fervently that he might share its pain for Christ. Shortly before his death, he was granted the stigmata. Thomas Aquinas is known as one of the world’s greatest intellects and he devoted his life to theological study and lecturing, but two years before his death, he had a personal encounter with Christ which made him acknowledge that all his great intellect and theological study was as nothing compared to knowing the living Lord in his heart. We cannot understand the Cross by scholarship.

Is it easy to understand that those of us who are sinners (and have we anyone here who is not?) are victims of evil as well as perpetrators of it and that sickness itself is in some way linked to evil. We look at Christ’s healing of the paralysed man (Matthew 9 v 1-8) and see that this healing took place as the result of the forgiveness of his sins. It could seem to us that this young man, who so clearly needed the close attention of his friends probably hadn’t been in any position to commit any, “sins”, yet here Jesus was forgiving them. In this parable, as in the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus tells us that to hate in the heart is to murder and that to desire is to commit adultery (Matthew 5), we see the impossibility of our human situation and our inevitable involvement with sin. We then understand our need of a Saviour; we understand our need – as well as we ever can – our need of the Cross.

For the truth is that as people of the Fall we are in confusion. We are children of God, yearning for God, but drawn also to the self-centred disobedience which we, as Adam, chose when in Eden we opted for the sweet fruits of worldliness. Of course you and I personally did not do this opting. We wouldn’t have done – or would we? Nonetheless, we are born into the result­ing confusion and into a world where the innocent are just as likely – or more likely – to suffer than the guilty.

Our earth is also carrying its cross. Our earth is sick because of our use of it; many now believe that it is terminally sick. Rob Brighton, Principal of the Worcestershire College of Agriculture, believes this and he and his colleagues argue that the land must return to the small natural, organic farm of grains, fruits, vegetables, livestock and dung. They see a necessary wholeness and interdependence of human, animal and plant life in a natural situation and worry that growing vegetarianism and the resultant intensive farming of the land is serving further to deplete its exhausted soil. On the other hand, vegans argue that it is meat production with its profligate use of natural resources and its pollution which is destroying our earth. I, like most others, have insufficient scientific knowledge to judge between these two cases, but as a Christian, I believe that they both are supported by the scriptures: The vegan case arguing the truth of Genesis 1 and the organic case arguing the interdependent imperfections of human, animal and earth as the result of the Fall. (Genesis 3).

Depression is a cross which can easily separate its victim from God and, not surprisingly, many animal welfarists are prone to suffer in this way. Some folk assert that no true Christian should ever suffer from depression, and we do appreciate that ideally we should all radiate, “love, joy and peace.” (Galatians 5 v 22). The fact is that many worthy Christians, saints like St Francis of Assisi, David Watson, a faithful charismatic of our own day, have suffered this sickness. Thirty years ago I suffered from very severe depression during three difficult pregnancies, one of which thankfully resulted in the birth of our son, but two of which ended in miscarriage. I well remember the pain, guilt and inadequacy of those bleak years. One day I received a letter from a fairly distant acquaintance about the love of God and the healing to be found in Christ Jesus. I ripped it into shreds, bitterly angry that this woman should think that she could console me in this way. I often wonder how many of the letters I write to depressed animal welfarists end up in shreds. But recently I received a telephone call from a young woman who seemed determined to get rid of her two, “very good”, dogs because she couldn’t cope with them and her young family. She had had a thin time with the animal sanctuaries she had contacted, who already had their hands full with neglected and homeless animals, and she was now preparing to have the dogs destroyed. But I was very quickly able to recognise that behind this apparently callous story was a young woman sick with post miscarriage depression and I was able to put her in touch with a Christian group which, hopefully, could help her, as well as to persuade a sanctuary to take the dogs for re-homing.

It is perhaps when we have to face the loss of a loved one that we feel our keenest separation from God, carry our heaviest cross, for this separation calls into question the very nature and significance of death in our world. This is when it is important to remember the effects of the Fall, for difficult though it may be to believe, death is one of them: “And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die. (Genesis 2 v 16-17). This belief is reiterated by Paul: “Sin came into the world through one man and his sin brought death with it …” (Romans 5 v 12) and “The last enemy to be defeated will be death.” (1 Cor 15 v 26). Death is the enemy of both man and animal. It is not part of the perfect will of God and those who make a friend of it, who kill lightly and with pleasure as in blood-sports, are flouting His love and working against the saving grace of His Son. For the vital Truth of the Cross is that Christ Jesus HAD to endure the death which we die and which animals and all creatures die in order to rise out of it and show us that in Him the power of death, the power of the Fall, is broken. In the Holy City there is no death (Revelation 21 v 4) and it is the whole creation which worships God (Revelation 5 v 13): His NEW CREATION.

Stay tuned for part six of “Through The Cross To The New Creation, The Church In Action”. For those who would like to read the entire article: THROUGH-THE-CROSS Article 10Thank you for reading and following our blog; we hope you are blessed by our work! ~Kathy